First Church Meeting in Mang’ola Further Testifies the Goodness of God

TANZANIA – People arrived at the church for the first time in an old storage unit that once housed livestock and onions. Those present were not transplants from other Christian churches nor were they new to the community looking for a place of worship. Instead, these were all newborn Christians. They had heard the good news of salvation through the person of Jesus Christ and had seen the results of numerous power encounters with village witchdoctors. They themselves had been set free from demonic possession, had experienced physical healings and had come for the first time to celebrate their new lives in Christ.

So, they assembled: men, women, children, and animals. Animals! These animals were given as gifts to the Lord and his servants. Pastor Johnson Odoyo received a handful of live chickens and even a goat—tokens of gratitude from those who had been set free from the power of evil.

One new believer is a former Muslim woman whose husband is a witchdoctor. She left behind both religions to follow the most powerful and most loving God. As a demonstration of her new faith, she and many others brought their old charms and fetishes to the house of the Lord to be burned publicly.

Her husband has lost his ability to practice the dark arts after a confrontation with the One True God. Although he now struggles with his own identity, he has not prevented his wife from following her heart.

Another new believer is a young college student who is in his final year of studies. The price he pays for choosing Jesus is a costly one. His father has removed him from the family and has ceased funding his college education. The decision of what to do with the animals was an easy one for Pastor Johnson. He gave them to the young man to help pay for his studies while promising that his Lord would provide even more.

The Word of God continues to spread to formerly unreached people groups, bringing freedom and new life.